Singer returns to the director's chair of the film franchise he helped launch in the upcoming sequel to last summer's X-Men: Days of Future Past, scheduled for theatrical release in 2014.

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original “X-Men” film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from “X-Men: First Class,” in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.

Although X-Men: Days of Future Past is still half a year away from hitting theaters, director Bryan Singer offers up a surprising announcement about the continuation of the franchise:

Apocalypse is a fan favorite X-Men villain from Marvel Comics canon. Created by Louise and Walter Simonson, he was born in Egypt circa 3,000 BC and is considered the world's first mutant. Over the millennia he's learned to forcibly evolve in order to survival and ultimately conquer the world. He was an integral character in the X-Men cartoon from the 1990s and the 'Age of Apocalypse' comic book storyline was one of Marvel's most successful in recent years. At this time there's no word which cast members from the upcoming film will star in Apocalypse; it appears Singer will be returning to direct.